(VitalNews.org) – Two men were prevented from breaking into another man’s home in Oak Cliff, Texas, when the resident opened fire on them. Ethan Rodriguez was at home playing video games with his brother on Saturday, August 19 when he heard a knock at his door at around 6pm. Checking his doorbell camera via his phone, Rodriguez saw a man he did not recognize standing outside his apartment door. Rodriguez says that he became suspicious when the man claimed to be a maintenance worker tasked with replacing his air conditioner filters, and also said that he had tried to perform the task earlier in the day.
According to Rodriguez, when he had asked the building’s maintenance team to replace the filters in the past, they had told him they could not help. He was also certain that nobody had knocked at his door earlier in the day.
Unconvinced by the man’s story, and by his lack of maintenance uniform, Rodriguez told the man that he was not home, and so the work could not be carried out that day. The man left, only to reappear a matter of minutes later, armed with a gun, and accompanied by another man in a mask. Surveillance footage captured the two men taking it in turns to kick at the door of the supposedly empty apartment.
Meanwhile, fearing for his life, Rodriguez grabbed his handgun and fired a total of 13 bullets through his front door, hoping to hit the assailants. The first suspect, 30-year-old Aaron Contreras, fired two shots back, but ultimately fled the scene along with his colleague. Nobody was injured in the shooting, but police found bullets wedged in the wall of the apartment opposite to Rodriguez’s home, as well as the 2 fired into Rodriguez’s home.
Contreras has since been arrested and charged with aggravated assault, deadly conduct, and attempted burglary. Rodriguez has since left the home along with his wife and 7-month-old son, who were not present at the time of the attempted break-in, and told reporters that the family wanted to find a new home.
Copyright 2023, VitalNews.org
